At present, motor vehicles are currently fitted with optic sensors to assist drivers in diverse traffic situations, such as, but not limited to, parking assistance, blind zone object detection, traffic lane departure, traffic signal identification or rear view mirror substitution.
Generally, these optic sensors are fitted on a vehicle exterior surface such that a lens surface of the optic sensor is exposed to dirt which deprives the quality of the captured image. This exposure can be direct or indirect, the latter occurring when the lens surface is disposed behind a cover window. Hence, there is a need to remove a foreign matter stuck onto a lens surface or a cover window of a vehicle-mounted optic sensor.
There are various types of camera washing devices to wash a front glass or lens of an in-vehicle mounted camera, and which are conventionally equipped with a high pressure air generation device, which generates high-pressure wash water by using high-pressure air, and sprays the high-pressure wash water on the surface of the cover glass or lens of the in-vehicle camera, in order to wash and clean the surface of the cover glass of the in-vehicle camera.
However, while the wash water is being applied to wash the lens or cover glass and until the water has been fully evaporated, the driver of the vehicle cannot see properly the captured image. To solve this problem, there are known devices which use a blast of air to dry the remaining washing water on the lens or cover glass. However, these devices are usually based in motor driven air pumps, which are complex and expensive equipments.